This study explored the impact of infant temperament and maternal stress on the development of the infant medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) among sixteen 6-8-month-old infants. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure activation of the infant mPFC in response to angry, happy, and sad faces. Infant temperament and dimensions of maternal stress were measured with the Infant Behavior Questionnaire and the Parenting Stress Index Respectively. Infants with high negative emotionality demonstrated increased mPFC activation in association with all emotion face conditions. Negative emotionality moderated the effect of total maternal stress on mPFC activation to angry and sad faces. Mother-infant dysfunctional interaction was related to increased mPFC activation associated with happy faces, supporting the “novelty hypothesis”, in which the mPFC responds more strongly to unique experiences. Therefore, this study provides additional evidence that infant temperament and the quality of the mother-infant relationship influence the development of the mPFC and how infants process emotions.

本研究探讨了婴儿气质和母亲压力对 16 名 6-8 个月大婴儿内侧前额叶皮层 (mPFC) 发育的影响。功能性近红外光谱 (fNIRS) 用于测量婴儿 mPFC 对愤怒、快乐和悲伤面孔的反应。分别用婴儿行为问卷和育儿压力指数测量婴儿气质和母亲压力维度。具有高度负面情绪的婴儿表现出与所有情绪面部状况相关的 mPFC 激活增加。消极情绪调节了母亲总压力对 mPFC 激活愤怒和悲伤面孔的影响。母婴功能失调的相互作用与快乐面孔相关的 mPFC 激活增加有关，支持“新奇假设”，即 mPFC 对独特经历的反应更强烈。因此，这项研究提供了额外的证据，表明婴儿气质和母婴关系的质量会影响 mPFC 的发育以及婴儿处理情绪的方式。